The Royal School for Judges and Prosecutors has undergone some changes to its structure and leadership, with a new director and plans to make it part of a larger academy that will also train court clerks, officials said Tuesday.
Kim Sathavy, the former director of the royal school, said she tendered her resignation in June when she decided to apply to be a judge at the Supreme Court.
Kim Sathavy said she has not heard about the status of her application yet, but maintained she was not forced to resign her directorship of the royal school. “This is my decision,” she said.
Former Kampot Provincial Court Judge Vann Phann, who previously held the position of director of studies at the royal school, confirmed he was named as Kim Sathavy’s replacement about a month ago.
He said the government decided in January to create a new school for court clerks to be combined with the Royal School for Judges and Prosecutors, with the Royal Academy overseeing both schools.
“The aim is to train court clerks because some of them don’t have knowledge of the law,” Vann Phann said, though he noted that no work has yet begun on the new amalgamated royal school.
Despite the change in directors, Vann Phann said there have been no changes to the royal school, which is expected to graduate its first class of about 55 student judges and prosecutors around November.
“The previous projects are still in place,” Vann Phann said. The new school will require more teachers, he said. “We need to ask for teachers from the Supreme Court, the Appeals Court and the Municipal Court,” he said.
Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
